Lin Ling followed behind Aliviel.
It was only then that she realized the corridors of the Demon King’s Castle weren't actually all identical.
Some walls were engraved with hidden patterns.
Some corners were embedded with magic stone lamps.
Old banners hung at the ends of some long corridors.
It was just that when she was walking alone earlier, everything had only one thing in common in her eyes—
None of it looked like a way out.
Now that Aliviel was leading the way, the Demon King’s Castle, which had seemed like a maze, suddenly became much more normal.
As Lin Ling walked, she couldn't help but whisper:
“Your Demon King’s Castle is really too big.”
Aliviel didn't look back.
“So, how many circles did you actually wander in just now?”
Lin Ling fell silent for a moment.
“That’s not important.”
“What’s important is that I have proven a fact through field investigation.”
Aliviel raised an eyebrow.
“What fact?”
Lin Ling’s expression was serious.
“The Demon King’s Castle lacks a sense of navigation.”
Aliviel’s footsteps paused.
Then, she let out a laugh.
Lin Ling immediately protested.
“Don’t laugh.”
“This is a very serious infrastructure issue.”
Aliviel glanced back at her.
“Then how do you think it should be changed?”
Lin Ling thought seriously for a moment.
“For example, write some signposts on the walls.”
“Demon King’s Office ahead.”
“Kitchen, turn left.”
“For the pet’s room, please go right.”
Aliviel: “...”
She tried to hold it in.
In the end, she couldn't suppress her smile.
“You certainly know exactly where you live.”
Lin Ling puffed out her chest.
“One must have a correct understanding of their social positioning.”
“Currently, I am a pet.”
“But soon, I will have evolved into a research-oriented pet.”
Aliviel’s shoulders shook slightly with laughter.
But after laughing, her tone softened a bit.
“Lin Ling.”
“Hmm?”
“What if the method you just mentioned fails?”
Lin Ling’s pace slowed slightly.
She looked down at her hands.
The faint blue magic in her palm had already dissipated.
But in her mind, the image of using Holy Light Stasis remained very clear.
White light.
Suppressed magic.
A small, isolated area.
She was silent for a few seconds.
Then she said:
“Then I’ll just have to think of another way.”
Aliviel looked at her.
Lin Ling looked up, her tone soft but without hesitation.
“We can’t just not try anything, can we?”
Aliviel didn't speak.
After a moment, she just slightly curled the corners of her mouth.
“We’re here.”
The two stopped in front of a large black door.
Aliviel raised her hand and knocked.
“Lord Demon King.”
A calm voice came from inside.
“Enter.”
The door was pushed open.
Ivelia was sitting at her desk.
Several records were spread out on the desk.
The dim lamplight fell on her, making those dark red eyes look exceptionally quiet.
She looked up, and her expression didn't change much when she saw Lin Ling.
“Lin Ling.”
“It’s late. Is something wrong?”
Lin Ling stood at the doorway.
She looked at Ivelia.
The words from the kitchen flashed through her mind again.
Soft bread.
Hard bread.
Minced meat soup.
And that sentence—
The Demon King herself gets hungry too.
Lin Ling’s fingers curled slightly.
But she didn't mention any of that.
There was something more important right now.
She took a deep breath and stepped forward.
“Lord Demon King.”
“I’ve thought of a new experimental method.”
Ivelia looked at her.
“Speak.”
Lin Ling raised her hand.
A bit of faint blue magic emerged in her palm.
“Before, I tried to extract the magic from the land, but it failed.”
“Because the surrounding magic is too dense, it flows back immediately.”
“So this time, I want to do the opposite.”
“First, isolate the magic in a certain area.”
Ivelia’s gaze moved slightly.
“Control it?”
“Yes.”
Lin Ling nodded.
“I have a spell called Holy Light Stasis that can restrict the flow of magic within a small area, while simultaneously blocking external magic from entering.”
“First, isolate that experimental field from the surrounding magic environment.”
“Then, drain the residual magic inside.”
She gestured seriously.
“It’s like first scooping a bucket of water from a lake.”
“Then drying out the water in the bucket.”
“That way, the external water won’t fill it back up immediately.”
The room fell silent.
Ivelia didn't speak right away.
Aliviel stood to the side and didn't speak either.
After a while, Ivelia asked:
“And the risks?”
Lin Ling blinked.
“There are some.”
She said honestly:
“This magic is indiscriminate.”
“If successfully cast, the magic flow within the range will be suppressed.”
“In other words, not just the land, but even the caster themselves might be affected.”
“But its restriction on item-based effects is weaker.”
“So I think, if used well, it might be possible to control the area's magic while retaining some item effects.”
She paused.
“Of course, this is just my guess.”
“It still needs to be tested.”
Ivelia looked at her.
“Why have you come to find me now?”
Lin Ling was silent for a moment.
She looked down at her hands.
After a few seconds, she said softly:
“Because I’m afraid I’ll forget if I sleep on it.”
Aliviel: “...”
Ivelia: “...”
Lin Ling looked up, her expression serious.
“And...”
Her voice softened a bit.
“This method might actually be able to help.”
Ivelia watched her quietly.
Lin Ling didn't say she had overheard the conversation in the kitchen.
She didn't say she knew that piece of soft bread was the Demon King’s own food.
She just stood there, her platinum-blonde hair falling over her shoulders, still looking as delicate as if she would break at a touch.
But her gaze didn't waver.
Ivelia looked at her for a long time.
Finally, she asked:
“What do you need?”
Lin Ling was stunned.
She had originally thought the Demon King would ask more.
Like where this magic came from.
Like why she had this ability.
Like what she was actually hiding.
But Ivelia only asked what she needed.
Lin Ling lowered her head, the corners of her mouth twitching slightly.
Then she looked up.
“I need a small experimental field.”
“A few seedlings that haven't completely withered yet.”
“I need someone to record the magic changes.”
“And I also need someone to prevent me from getting lost in the Demon King’s Castle.”
Aliviel: “...”
Ivelia was silent for a moment.
“Anything else?”
Lin Ling’s expression became solemn.
“Also...”
She slowly raised her hand.
“If the experiment is successful.”
“I want to eat meat.”
The room went quiet.
Aliviel turned her head away, her shoulders shaking slightly.
Ivelia looked at Lin Ling.
After a long time, she finally spoke calmly:
“We’ll see the results.”
Lin Ling clutched her chest.
“That phrase again.”
“Lord Demon King, do you know what this is called in the human world?”
Ivelia asked:
“What is it called?”
Lin Ling said sorrowfully:
“Painting a pie.”
Ivelia: “...”
Aliviel finally couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Lin Ling immediately turned to look at her.
“Don’t laugh.”
“This is a very serious labor compensation issue.”
Aliviel nodded.
“Yes, very serious.”
But the smile on her face didn't look like she meant it at all.
Ivelia stood up.
“We will conduct the second experiment tomorrow.”
“Aliviel, notify Phelan to record the magic concentration.”
“Baroque will be responsible for the outer perimeter security.”
“Cecil will handle the personnel on-site.”
Aliviel bowed her head.
“Understood.”
Ivelia looked at Lin Ling again.
“Go back and rest tonight.”
“Try again tomorrow.”
Lin Ling nodded.
“Okay.”
Having said that, she prepared to leave.
But as she reached the door, she stopped.
Ivelia looked at her.
“Is there something else?”
Lin Ling hesitated.
She wanted to mention the soft bread.
She wanted to say she knew.
She wanted to say that next time, she didn't need to give her own food to her.
But as the words reached her lips, she swallowed them back down.
She felt that saying it now would only make the Demon King feel awkward.
And Ivelia probably wouldn't admit she was hungry anyway.
So in the end, Lin Ling just turned back and said very seriously:
“Lord Demon King.”
“I will work hard tomorrow.”
Ivelia looked at her.
Her dark red eyes moved slightly.
After a moment, she nodded slightly.
“Yes.”
“I know.”
Only then did Lin Ling turn and leave.
Just as she stepped out the door, she stopped again.
Aliviel looked at her.
“What’s wrong?”
Lin Ling was silent for two seconds.
Then she said in a small voice:
“That...”
“The way back to my room...”
Aliviel: “...”
The room was briefly quiet.
Then, Aliviel rested her forehead in her hand and let out a sigh.
“I’ll take you back.”
Lin Ling breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thank you.”
She paused, then couldn't help but add:
“The Demon King’s Castle really should add signposts.”
Aliviel said with a smile:
“You can personally propose that to the Demon King tomorrow.”
Lin Ling thought seriously for a moment.
Then she shook her head.
“No.”
“I haven't eaten meat yet.”
“I can’t take that kind of life-threatening risk.”
Aliviel laughed again.
The two left along the corridor.
The door behind them closed gently.
The room returned to silence.
Ivelia stood at the desk, looking toward the doorway, not speaking for a long time.
Outside the window, the black land stretched out silently.
The dense magic still flowed.
The food in the Demon King’s Castle was still scarce.
That land still hadn't recovered.
But tonight, someone had brought a new method.
A method that sounded absurd, yet wasn't entirely impossible.
Isolate first.
Then extract.
First scoop a bucket of water from the ocean.
Then dry out the water in the bucket.
It wasn't that the demons hadn't tried, but the barriers they set up were always crushed and collapsed by the powerful magic.
Ivelia lowered her eyes and looked at the records on the desk.
After a moment, she picked up a pen and wrote a line on the paper.
——Second Experiment.
——Target: Localized magic control.
After writing, she paused for a moment.
Then she added a line next to it.
——Proponent: Lin Ling.
On the other side.
Lin Ling followed behind Aliviel and finally returned to her room.
When her familiar bed appeared before her eyes, she was so moved she almost wanted to pounce on it.
“I’m back.”
“My bed.”
“Do you know what I just went through?”
Aliviel stood at the door.
“It doesn't know.”
Lin Ling turned back.
“You demons really lack a sense of romance.”
Aliviel smiled.
“Get some good rest.”
“Tomorrow isn't just for messing around.”
Lin Ling nodded.
“I know.”
Aliviel glanced at her.
“You really know?”
Lin Ling sat on the edge of the bed, looking down at her hands.
“Yes.”
She said softly:
“I really know.”
Aliviel didn't say anything more.
She turned and left, closing the door for Lin Ling.
The room fell silent once again.
Lin Ling lay back on the bed but didn't fall asleep immediately.
She looked at the ceiling.
Images of the Holy Light Stasis field kept appearing in her mind.
White light.
The quietly expanding field.
The suppressed magic.
The isolated experimental field.
And that bucket of water scooped from the ocean.
She didn't know if she could succeed tomorrow.
She didn't know if that skill from the game could be replicated in this world.
But she wanted to try.
It wasn't just for the soft bread.
It wasn't just for the meat.
Of course, meat was also important.
Very important.
But besides that—
She also wanted more seedlings on that patch of land to be able to lift their leaves.
Lin Ling slowly closed her eyes.
She whispered:
“Work hard tomorrow.”
“For the demons.”
“For the experimental field.”
“For the soft bread.”
She paused for a moment.
Then she added very seriously:
“And so I can eat meat.”
Outside the window, the Demon King’s Castle sank into the night.
On the black land, the dense magic still flowed slowly.
And the second experiment was about to begin tomorrow.
Rate on N.U.
